Maple Apricot Hermit Cookies
by Katie Webster
October 9, 2015 (updated 10/30/22) Jump To Recipe
Today I am sharing these chewy, spicy Maple Apricot Hermit Cookies from my cookbook, Maple. They are made with whole-grain flour, they are egg-free and can be made dairy free too!
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe For Maple Apricot Hermit Cookies
Today I’m sharing my Maple Hermit Cookies, which can also be found on Baking A Moment and in my cookbook, Maple. But how could I not share the hermit cookies with you all? They are the comfort food of cookies. Did I really need to think to hard about it? Not really.
Not only do I love any excuse to show you guys how wonderful baking with maple is, but they’re honestly amazing and probably different from most other cookies you’ve tried before.
I love making these cookies as a mid-week treat. They’re great to send my kids to school with as they’re allergen free and pretty healthy for a cookie. Friends are always appreciative when I make these as well, so really these can be made whenever the mood strikes.
These can also easily be made ahead as they last at room temperature for at least 3 days. Although you can make them vegan by using almond milk, here is an actual vegan hermit cookie recipe.
Key Ingredients For This Recipe
Flour
When I was testing this recipe the apricots kept falling to the bottom of the batter. And the cookies were too cakey. I used bread flour and a bit of extra mixing to give the cookies their signature chewy texture.
Like most of my baking recipes, I also call for some sort of wholegrain four. In this case, I used white whole wheat for its mild flavor. The combo worked well and they were much chewier and the apricots stayed put.
Dried apricots
Apricots are a great way to add extra natural sweetness to baked goods. They can be found with other dried fruits.
Maple sugar
Maple sugar was used to sweeten them without regular sugar. You can often find granulated maple sugar in the store in the health food section (or baking section). If you can’t find maple sugar you can use maple syrup instead.
Since maple syrup is liquid it can do all sorts of strange things to baking recipes. I have found that a good rule of thumb for using it instead of white sugar is to decrease other liquids in the recipe by 3 tablespoons for every cup of maple used in the recipe.
Molasses
Molasses, like here, is often used to replace some sugar in recipes. It also adds a really nice rich flavor to the cookies.
Turbinado Sugar
Final hermit cookie perfection came when I decided to dust the top with crunchy turbinado sugar. It gave them that classic hermit sparkle and crunch. You can find it with sugar in the baking asile. Sugar in the Raw is a popular brand. Cane sugar or sanding sugar also work.
Step-by-Step Instructions to Make These Apricot Hermit Cookies
Step 1: Preheat oven
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking metal baking pan with cooking spray.
Step 2: Combine dry ingredients
Whisk together the bread flour, white whole wheat, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a medium bowl until combined, then stir in the apricots.
Step 3: Make batter for maple hermit cookies
Whisk together the maple sugar, oil, molasses and milk (or almond or soymilk) in another medium bowl. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until fully combined. Continue mixing for 50 strokes. Scrape into prepared pan, then spread batter to ensure apricots are equally distributed.
Step 4: Bake cookies
Bake the cookies until puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 24-28 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Step 5: Let cool
Let the cookies cool completely before cutting into 24 squares. Layer the hermits between pieces of parchment in a re-sealable container. Store at room temperature for 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
FAQs and Expert Tips
If you can’t find maple sugar anywhere, use 1 cup of dark maple syrup instead and increase the bread flour to 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons.
These homemade cookies can be stored at room temperature for about 3 days. They will last the longest if you store them in an airtight container. If you need them to last longer, place them in the freezer for up to 1 month.
I love playing around with dried fruit. You could try adding dried oranges, dried cranberries, dried pineapple, or even some nuts!
Additional Maple Recipes to Try
- Going to a party anytime soon? Make these Maple Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies!
- This Maple Cranberry Apple Pie will always be a hit.
- The same goes for this Maple Bourbon Pumpkin Pie! It’s so much tastier than any regular pumpkin pie.
- I love making this Maple Glazed Salmon. It’s so simple but so delicious.
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
Print Maple Apricot Hermit Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
Description
Don’t be surprised that this batter is very loose. It will bake up into chewy, spicy and sweet bar cookies with bright pops of apricots.
Ingredients
- 1 cup bread flour
- ½ cup white-whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped dried apricots
- ¾ cup maple sugar
- ½ cup avocado or organic canola oil
- ⅓ cup molasses
- ½ cup milk, almond milk or soymilk
- 4 teaspoons turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking metal baking pan with cooking spray.
- Whisk bread flour, white whole wheat, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Stir in apricots.
- Whisk maple sugar, oil, molasses and milk (or almond or soymilk) in another medium bowl. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until fully combined. Continue mixing for 50 strokes. Scrape into prepared pan. Scrape into prepared pan. Spread batter to ensure apricots are equally distributed.
- Bake until puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 24-28 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Let cool completely before cutting into 24 squares. Layer hermits between pieces of parchment in a re-sealable container. Store at room temperature for 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
Notes
Cooking Tip:
If you can’t find maple sugar anywhere, use 1 cup of dark maple syrup instead and increase the bread flour to 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 126
- Sugar: 13 g
- Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
Keywords: Apricot Hermit Cookies,Maple Hermit Cookies
Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she first started working in the test kitchen at EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications among others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was published in 2015. She launched Healthy Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you can find her at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.
Dude: I made these hermit cookies and they are completely wicked! One of my new faves! I’m over the moon about the book. xo
What delicious looking cookies! And thank you for sharing my recipe 🙂 You are so sweet!
on that note..i need to go buy some maple syrup STAT.